Xiaomi's SUV Ambitions Gain Traction as Smartphone Realities Bite
Published on 07/11/2026 at 11:01 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Xiaomi finds itself caught between two starkly different narratives. Its smartphone division has slashed its 2026 delivery target by nearly a third to around 95 million units, bowing to a global memory-chip shortage that is reshaping the handset industry. Yet the stock rallied 5.21% on Friday to €2.95, buoyed by accelerating momentum in its electric-vehicle business — a signal that investors are focusing on the auto division's potential rather than the headwinds in Xiaomi's core market.
The smartphone revision, communicated to suppliers in recent weeks, reflects a supply crisis that shows no signs of easing. Demand for high-performance memory from artificial-intelligence infrastructure is soaking up factory capacity that once served handset makers. Gartner expects the crunch to reduce global smartphone shipments by 8.4% in 2026 and push average selling prices up 13% year-on-year, with analyst Ranjit Atwal describing the scale and duration of the price increases as unprecedented. Relief is not expected before late 2027. According to Nikkei Asia, China's three largest Android manufacturers have all cut their 2026 targets by as much as 30%, while a separate Korean report noted one rival trimming its forecast from 110 million to 95 million units — a 44% decline from the 170 million it shipped in 2025. A lacklustre mid-year sales festival, traditionally a bellwether for Chinese consumer demand, compounded the pain, particularly in the budget and mid-range segments where price-sensitive buyers are balking at higher handset costs.
Xiaomi's electric-vehicle division, by contrast, is gathering steam. The company delivered 185,055 vehicles in the first half of 2026, a 17.2% increase over the same period a year earlier, and posted a third consecutive month of more than 30,000 deliveries in June. The auto arm is also preparing to expand its range with the Sky Nomad SUV series, known in China as Xuntian — a single product line that had sparked confusion as two separate brands. The trademark was registered on 3 April 2023, and the flagship N90, internally codenamed YU9, has already been spotted on multiple test drives.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Xiaomi?
Four variants are in the pipeline. The N90 is a large range-extender electric vehicle (EREV) with a 1.5-litre petrol engine producing 112 kW and a 76-kWh NMC battery pack powering an all-wheel-drive system delivering 310 kW. It offers an electric-only range of roughly 370 kilometres, fuel consumption of 6.26 litres per 100 km, a top speed of 190 km/h, and a length of 5,285 mm with a wheelbase of 3,080 mm. Its natural competitors include the Li Auto L9, Aito M9 and NIO ES8. The smaller N70 comes in rear-wheel-drive form with a 210-kW motor, a 52-kWh LFP battery and 270 km of electric range, while the N70 Max adds all-wheel drive, a 76-kWh NMC pack and up to 380 km of electric driving. A Camping Edition of the N90 Max, featuring a pop-up roof, is also planned.
The SUV push is accompanied by a notable shift in battery sourcing. Instead of leaning on market leader CATL, Xiaomi is reportedly turning to Sunwoda for 60% of cell supply and CALB for 40% on a model codenamed Kunlun. Diversifying away from CATL could give the company more flexibility in production planning for the new generation of vehicles.
The stock's recent bounce has done little to reverse broader losses. Friday's close at €2.95 left the shares up 11.30% for the week and 1.15% higher over the month, but they remain 34.31% below where they started the year and 52.45% lower than 12 months ago. The 52-week high of €6.51, set in September 2025, is still 54.69% away, while the low of €2.34 reached on 26 June 2026 is roughly 26% beneath the current price. The stock trades just under its 50-day moving average of €3.01 and a wide 24.15% below the 200-day average of €3.89, pointing to a still-intact long-term downtrend. The relative strength index of 60.6 hints at some buying momentum without reaching overbought territory, while the annualised 30-day volatility of 42.47% underscores how sharply the shares can swing.
Management's decision to cut the smartphone target is a pragmatic move to prioritise profitability over volume in an unforgiving market. At the same time, the auto division is exploring manufacturing efficiencies through "Titan Alloy 2.0", a recycled aluminium alloy for more effective gigacasting. Whether the vehicle business can compensate for the smartphone margin squeeze — and how quickly the memory-chip shortage eases — will determine if the recent share-price gain marks the start of a sustained recovery or merely a pause in a longer slide.
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